When Gloria came home from work, she was surprised to find the front door unlocked. After all, it was barely past eight, and Trevor's shift would not end until eleven.
It was a chilly winter evening, and she slipped inside quickly. The lights were not on, and the house was quiet. As she threw her purse on the table, it occurred to her that there might be an intruder. She frowned. "Trevor?" she called, but no answer came.
Then again, it was a large house. Trevor was a surgeon at the county hospital, and Gloria was a college professor. They had done quite well for themselves. She decided that she was being irrational, and she went upstairs to look for her husband.
Gloria was pretty, with long, black hair that spilled over her shoulders in large curls. Not skinny and not precisely buxom, she kept in shape well enough to draw the eyes of more than a few college boys, not to mention professors. She taught women's studies, but her classes always had more than their fair share of male students. One had gone so far as to ask her out, and she'd let him down easily but firmly. She accepted all of this with the quiet dignity of a married woman.
As she climbed the stairs, Gloria unzipped her coat and pulled it off. She was wearing jeans and a purple sweater. It wasn't exactly her favorite color, but it had been a gift from Trevor, and she was not one to refuse a gift. The bedroom door was ajar, and she opened it cautiously.
The room was empty. Well, not exactly. There was a box on the bed, gift wrapped completely in purple. She smiled sweetly. Their anniversary was not for another week, and it was not like Trevor to do anything ahead of time.
On the other hand, it was not like her to look a gift horse in the mouth. She grinned, turned on a light, and sat down on the bed. Setting the box on her lap, she read the card:
"To the woman of my dreams, I thought this would go nicely with your sweater. May it make you as happy as you make me."
Gloria beamed a little, rolling her eyes at the sweater comment. Trevor was terrible at picking out gifts, but she could overlook that for the moment. She tore the box open.
Inside was a purple silk bustier, which laced up in the front, and matching panties. Lavender lace fringed the lingerie and adorned it with roses. The outfit even smelled of flowers, and there was a bottle of perfume inside the box.
She frowned and shook her head. Trevor made his share of mistakes, but he knew better than this. After five years of marriage, she had made it abundantly clear how she felt about such things. Not only did it force women into gender roles, but it completely conflicted with her sense of self. Gloria did have her feminine side, but she was not into such frivolous and girly things. Lingerie like this existed to put women on display, and she was not a trophy.
She cursed him and set the box aside. How could he be so stupid? Of course, she could understand why it would appeal to him. The lingerie was beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful she had ever seen. It was as if every detail had been attended to lovingly by a master of the craft. There was no doubt that it would look gorgeous on her.
That was not the point, though. Trevor had learned before he married her that she was simply not the girly type. She had thought that he understood and accepted that. Apparently, she had been wrong. Gloria closed her eyes and lay back on the bed, realizing for the first time how tired she was.
Well, she would just have to tell him to return it. She could hear him now, hesitating, cajoling, telling her she might like it if she gave it a chance. She had to be firm, though. After all, why would a woman enjoy wearing uncomfortable lingerie for a man to ogle her in?
Granted, the bustier and panties did not look uncomfortable at all. In fact, they looked quite soft and silky. She could imagine running her hands over them, and the idea was by no means unpleasant.
Still, men who bought such things didn't care about that. If she accepted the lingerie, who knew what it might be next time? Stockings? Garter belts? Leather? She could not let Trevor think that he could treat her like a plaything. Gloria was a grown woman, a mature woman, and she knew what she liked.
She yawned and stretched out her arms. It felt nice here on the bed. Maybe she would feel better after a nap.
Gloria awoke and looked around. Fifteen minutes had passed, and she was still half asleep. She sat up groggily.
While she remembered no coherent dreams, she could recall a sensation of comfort and bliss. In this dream state, Gloria had felt completely safe and relaxed, as she if she had no worries in the world.
She laughed lightly at the idea. Right now, she had a big worry, a husband who thought he could treat her like property. She sighed and stood up, and her head immediately felt heavy.
The idea of crawling into bed sounded very appealing right now, but Gloria wanted to be awake to confront Trevor. Still, she could practically hear the bed calling to her. It was hard to resist.
Maybe a cup of coffee would do the trick. She went to close the box and found herself looking the bustier and panties over. The lingerie really was quite lovely, and she smiled a little in spite of herself.
